Winds wreaked havoc on Southern California on Friday, topping trees onto a freeway and a road just before rush hour traffic and fanning flames from a brush fire.
Traffic was backed up Friday afternoon after a tree fell on the westbound side of the Ventura (101) Freeway near Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Studio City, damaging at least one car. A tree acted as a roadblock on Sunset Boulevard near Bristol Circle.
High winds and red flag fire warnings made for perfect brush fire conditions. One brush fire scorched vegetation near the northbound Antelope Valley (14) Freeway in the Newhall area.
The fire was reported about 11:45 a.m. north of Sierra Highway, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Around 8.6 acres had burned around 1:45 p.m. Friday, but the fire was contained, said Randall Wright of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The northbound 14 Freeway was closed about 12:25 p.m. as a precaution while the firefighting effort continued.
Two lanes of the freeway remained closed around 1:45 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
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Air-dropping helicopters were assisting ground crews to keep the flames from spreading.
